Bottom Line: Website a resource for ratings of nonprofits

When it comes to restaurants and hotels, a good or bad review can often affect whether people patronize a business.

The same goes for charities, and thanks to www.greatnonprofits.org, there's a site that offers more than 1.2 million registered nonprofits in communities throughout the nation and rates each one.

People can get information and reviews about nonprofits in their areas by searching a name, a ZIP code, an issue or services. It also gives specifics on how donations or volunteer hours are put to use.

"Many people use this time of year to look for a charity to support, and it can be a confusing process," Perla Ni, CEO of GreatNonprofits, said in a statement. "We enable crowd-sourced recommendations about which organizations will provide donors and volunteers the most impact for their time and money."

Lisa Hernandez's nonprofit, The Long Beach Depot for Creative ReUse, is one of several local nonprofit organizations listed on the site.

"Being a new nonprofit, it's been harder for us because we have to build up our reputation," said Hernandez, who opened her storefront in the East Village Arts District in 2008, just before the economic downturn. "We try to make it work. It's a miracle that we're still here."

She said sites such as www.greatnonprofits.org help bring awareness to lesser-known nonprofits such as hers, adding that donors demand transparency from nonprofits.

"With the economy, people want to see where that money is going," she said.

This week, the website partnered with Giving Tuesday - the day set aside to give to charities - to support local nonprofits.

"This is a critical time to support local nonprofits," Ni said. "Governments are cutting funding for local nonprofit services like after-school programs and soup kitchens by as much as 20 percent. Meanwhile, the number of people needing these services has skyrocketed."

Ni said nonprofit reliance on local and individual donations has grown from 10 percent to 60 percent in some parts of the country.

According to a GuideStar survey of 500 charities, roughly 65 percent said contributions would be less in the remaining months of 2012 than the same time last year. If there is an increase, it is likely to be modest, according to the survey.